Thread-winding machine.



No'. 693,!96. Patented Feb. ll, I902;

P. J. WESTPHAL. 1 THREAD WINDING IIIAQHINE.

(Application med Mar. 6, 1901.5

7 (No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PETER J. WESTPHAL, OEHOL OKE, MASSACHUSETTS.

'THREAD-WINDINGLMACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 693,196, dated February11, 1902.

Application filed March a, 1901. Serial No. 50,063. (No model.)

T0 ctZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, PET R J. WESTPHAL, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing'at Holyoke, in the county of Ham pden and State ofMassachusetts; have invented new and useful ImprovementsinThread-Winding Machines, of which the following is a specification. i

This invention relates'to improvements in thread-winding machines, andhas especial reference to the improvement of devices for regulating thepressure which the cops are subjected to by the thread-guide andto'means for varying the tension placed upon the thread as it passesonto the cop, whereby said tension may be changed or regulated inproportion to the change in the diameter of the cops.

A further object of theinvention lies in the adaptation of a stop-motionoperated by the movement of the thread-guide and means of adjustment forsaid stop-motion, whereby it may be operated by said guide to determinethe diameter of a cop at any point during the upward movement of theguide.

The invention consists in the construction as hereinafter fullydescribed,and'pointed out in the claim.

In the drawings, which consist of two figures, Figure 1 is aperspectiveview, partly broken away, howing one end of a threadwinding machinehaving my invention adapted thereto; and Fig. 2 is a longitudinalsection through the thread -tension's,- showing the means employedwhereby the degree of tension applied to the thread'may be variedaccording to the diameter of the cop being wound.

Referring to the drawings, a represents a part of the frame of athread-winding ma,- chine in which is mounted the usual drivingshaft b,run by a belt 0 and geared by devices not shown in the drawings with thespindle (1, one end of which projects beyond its bearing, as shown, andwhich receives a cop-tube on which thecops e are wound. Threads fromsuitable bobbins pass around or partly around the disk tension devicesf,

ing 2', in which it has a sliding movement. Nearthe lower end of saidstem a postj is socured'thereto at right angles and projects from eitherside thereof. On one end of said post suitable weights it may behung,whereby said guide-plate g may be made to bear with more or lesspressure on the cops as they transverse slot 1) at that point where thearm Z passes through the slot m.

The upper end of the arm Z has pivoted thereto a shorter arm q,extending downwardly through the slot 'm in the arbor n, and the lowerend of said arm g has a screw 1 passing therethrough, whose point restsagainst the arm 1, and the latter is Slotted and has a screw 3 passingthrough said slot and threaded into a hole in the arm q.' By means ofthe screws the arm q may be swung at a greater or less angle to the armI, and the screw 1 is used as a set-screw for holding-it in the desiredposition. Thus the arm q, together with the upper end of the arm Z,forms a wedge, the arm Z, as shown in Fig. 2, bearing against the arm 0,and the arm q bearing against one end-0f the slot m in the arbor n. 1When the guide-plate g rests upon the spindle d, theends of the arms qand Z at the point of their union will lie just within the said slot m,and

when in this position the maximum tension will be applied to the disks fby means of the spring t. v The operation of this tension device is asfollows: The arloorn is loosely held in its sup port 0--that is to say,it is free to move endwise therein. The upper ends of the arms q and Zor some part thereof always occupy the slot m. A spring to, superiorintensi'on to the spring 25, is applied to one end of the arbor n andconstantly holds the end of the slot m againstthe'in clined face of thearmq. Now'in adj usting the tension under which the threads .are to be.wound onto the cop the spring-tie by a suitable nut compressed more orless until the requisite resistance to separation of the disks f isattained. Now as the cops inro J crease in size the guide-plate g israised and with it the stem'h and with the latter the arms Z and q andthe inclined surface of the latter forced against the end of the slot m,the armZ finding its abutment against the arm 0. The arbor n is given alongitudinal movement in its support toward the spring 25, thus takingfrom the latter a certain degree of its compression or tension andproportionately permitting the more easy separation of thetension-disksf. It is thus seen that by means of the arm q, whose degreeof inclination may be varied by means of the screws 7' and s, asdescribed, any relaxation of the normal tension as the cops e are builtup may be effected as desired.

It has been found in practice that where cops are to be wound havingcomparatively large diameters if the same tension is maintained inwinding from the center outward by the time the cop is completed thetension of the center thereof is so great as to have a tendency to notonly crush the tube, but to throw said center part out of line, causingit to bulge, and it is to overcome this de-' feet that means areprovided herein for decreasing gradually the tension on the thread asthe cop increases in diameter. Furthermore, it is found that more orless pressure upon the cops by the guide-plate gives an improved finishto the cop, and to provide for this pressure weights may be hung on thepost j on the stem of the guide-plate g. It has been found desirablealso in practice to prevent the weight of the guide-plate and itsattached parts from resting upon the cop-tube at the beginning of thewinding operation. Therefore to relieve the cop of the weight of saidplate and its parts during the first few courses a support for saidplate is provided, which consists of an adjusting-screw v, supported ina post 10, screwed into the frame,

and the stem h of the guide-plate rests on the top of this screw whenthe cop-tube has no thread wound upon it and holds the guideplate justout of contact with said tube.

The successful operation of said winding machine requires that themachine shall stop automatically when the desired amount of thread hasbeen wound on the cop. The stopmotion herein shown consists of aspring-actuated belt-shipper rod or and means for shifting it to stopand start the machine. When the belt a, which is engaged by a fork onthe shipper-rod, is drawn onto the tight pulley, (indicated by y in thedrawings,) a spring 2 is compressed by said movement of the shipper-rod.This spring is, as shown, wound around the rod and the rod and springinclosed in a suitable tubular support 1. At the time the belt arrivesfairly onto the tight pulley y a spring-actuated latch 2 snaps into anotch on said shipper rod and holds it against return movement. Thislatch 2 is pivoted at 3 to the frame of the machine, and its oppositeend is connected by an endwise-adjustable connection lwith one end of aswinging Ushaped yoke, one arm 5 of which is pivotally connected withthe connection 4.. Said yoke is pivotally supported in a bearing 6, theother arm 7 of said yoke reaching over into the path of the post j in aposition substantially parallel with the arm 5. A spring 8 is connectedwith the end of the arm 5 and the frame of the machine, the function ofsaid spring being to hold the latch 2 in engagement with theshipper-rod.

It will be readily seen by the foregoing description that as thediameter of the cop increases the stem 71. will rise, carrying with itthe post j, which will when the cop has reached the desired diametercause the arm 7 to be swung upward, whereby through the describedconnections with said arm the latch 2 will become disengaged from theshipperrod and the spring on the latter will ship the belt 0 from thetight to the loose pulley of the machine, arresting its motion. It isobvious, however, that owing to the fact that the guide-plate on certainsizes of cops will rise to a greater height than when smaller cops areto be wound it is necessary to provide adjusting means for saidstop-motion, whereby the disengagement of the latch 2 with theshipper-rod may be effected when any desired diameter of cop has beenattained. In other words, the stop-motion adjustment is such that itmaybe caused to operate at any point during the upward movement of theguide-plate g. This range of adj ustability in the stop-motion isattained by means of the endwise-adjustable connection 4:. Thisconnection is made in two parts united by a sleeve having a right andleft hand thread,- into which the said two parts are screwed. B yshortening said connection 4 the stop-motion maybe adjusted to a cop oflarger diameter, and by lengthening it it may be adjusted to arrest themotion of the machine upon the attainment of a smaller diameter. Toadjust the stop-motion to operate at a given pointduring" the verticalmovement of the guideplate, the latter may be raised manually to thedesired height, representing the desired diameter of the cop, and thescrew connection 4 be then manipulated to bring the latch 2 into thedetent or notch of the shipper-rod and the arm 7 toa bearing upon thepost j. WVhen the guide-plate reaches this point of its upward movementin the operation of winding the cop, the arm 7 will be struck by thepost j and the latch 2 tripped, and the shipper-rod will then be movedto shift the belt onto the loose pulley of the machine.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States, is-

In a thread-winding machine, a spindle on which the thread is wound, athread-guide bearing on the thread being wound, and

adapted to be raised vertically by the building up of the thread on saidspindle; a tension device consisting of a series of disks held ment tosaid arbor to diminish the pressure whereby said disks are heldtogether, substantially as described.

PETER J. WESTPHAL.

yieldingly together, an arbor on which said disks are supported, and asupport for the arbor, there being a slot through the latter and saidsupport; awe dge connected with said 5 thread-guide and entering saidslots, whereby the movement of said guide vertically will move saidwedge and impart endwise move- Witnesses:

WM. H. CHAPIN, K. I. OLEMoNs.

